The concept of twist on wire connectors for connecting the junction of two or more wires together by twisting a cap on the wires is old in the art. Twist on wire connectors are well known in the art and generally comprise an outer housing with a tapered threaded interior to permit a user to insert wires into the tapered opening. Typical examples of prior art twist on wire connectors are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,497,607; 3,875,324; and 4,691,079. To use a twist on wire connector, the user inserts the twisted ends of electrical wires into a cavity on the inside of the twist on wire connector. The user then holds the wire in one hand and with the other hand twists the twist on wire connector. The twisting action pulls the junction ends of the wires into a low resistance electrical contact.
If the connector is located in a wet location it is necessary to place a waterproof sealant around the connector. In order to prevent water or moisture from entering the connector and forming an oxidation layer over the ends of the wire the user inserts the twist on wire connector and the wire into some type of a waterproof potting compound. The compound may be either a non hardening or a hardening compound. In either case the compound creates a waterproof capsule over the twist on wire connector and the junction ends of the electrical wires.
Still other wire connectors permit simultaneously forming an electrical connection while the unstrapped electrical leads are located in a sealant by pushing a knife like member through the insulation on the electrical lead to make contact with the electrical wire beneath the insulation. Such wire connectors use separate compartments to hold each unstripped and require the connector to form the sole connection between separate wires and thus may not form a good electrical connection unless firm electrical contact is made between the knife like members and the electrical lead.
The present invention provides an improved twist on wire connector that permits the user in one continuous action to simultaneously form the junction ends of stripped wire leads into a low resistance electrical connection while the stripped electrical leads are surrounded by an encapsulating agents such as a waterproof sealant to form a waterproof covering around the junction ends of the wire leads.
The process of making a prior art twist on wire connector typically involves molding a shell around a spiral coil to create a prior art twist on wire connector. The present invention includes a second molding step wherein the prior art twist on wire connector is placed in a mold and a second shell is molded around the prior art twist on wire connector to produce a wire junction encapsulating twist on wire connector having a chamber that can contain an encapsulating material so that in one operation can permit the user to simultaneously compress the junction ends of electrical wires into low resistance electrical contact with each other while simultaneously encapsulating the junction ends of the electrical wires in a sealant.